The use of straps for RFID applications can provide the flexibility needed for different label requirements.

By Prashant Upreti and Tony Sabetti

RFID inlays

An RFID tag typically consists of a conductive metallic antenna with a low-power microchip. When passed within range of an active RFID reader, the tag is wirelessly energized by energy transmitted by the reader, and then communicates with the reader.

Today, RFID inlays are typically manufactured on a reel-to-reel process by directly attaching the thin microchips to a narrow web of plastic on which a series of two-dimensional antennas have been printed with conductive ink, or etched from a metal film. The output of this process is a roll of fully-tested inlays.